I'm of the belief that the Leafs are failing (in terms of playoff success) directly as a result of poor cap management due to the Tavares signing. For that reason alone, I cannot say Dubas is good at UFA signings. I agree he's made some solid ones, but they are "bargain bin" hit or misses because of the Tavares mistake. Bunting was a home run, and there's a few good signings, but there's also some bad ones like Mrazek.
Go back in time, keep Kadri and let Tavares sign elsewhere. The Leafs would be MUCH better off today IMO.
Sadly, time machines don't exist, so they are stuck in cap hell for years to come.
Note: I think Tavares cost the Leafs about 13m in cap space because it influenced the other big 2.
Edit: I understand this is an opinion and point of view, and not fact. I accept if you disagree. It's all good. Tavares is a good player regardless.
Yeah, I appreciate your opinion and that you have explained it, though I do not entirely agree (personally). I hated the Kadri trade, both because I liked the player and had little love for Tyson Barrie. Kadri was on a cap hit of 4.5 million, Barrie came in at 5.5 million (albeit with Colorado retaining), and then Toronto gave Alex Kerfoot 3.5 million per year.
I think they could have kept Kadri, notwithstanding Tavares, but management obviously felt that they would be better served trading from center (now having Matthews and Tavares) and adding to their blueline with Tyson Barrie. Fans were also critical of Kadri for two postseason suspensions, and perhaps that sentiment was also present in the front office. Kadri could be a frustrating player to watch, but I was always a fan because he worked so bloody hard and you could see flashes of that skill that made him a top ten pick in 2009.
I don't think Tavares' cap hit have really held them back, even though it's not great value. The Marleau and Zaitzev contracts handed out by Lou Lamiorello were however awful. Arguably Kerfoot's isn't that great either, and Mrazek has been a flub. At least Tavares is still a PPG center. If you shave a couple million off his cap hit then the contract looks much better, and then question I posed in the thread on our home forums is whether that extra money would have really moved the needle for Toronto. I personally doubt it, but it's all speculative. They could have kept Hyman, potentially, but even after a great playoffs, I don't really think Hyman is a huge loss.
As for Mikheyev, good player, reliable defensively, but I think some team may overpay him. Campbell is wildly inconsistent, but with no real starting goaltender and few other options, I imagine the reason there have been no discussions between the two is because Campbell is looking for a payday of some sort.
